the sochi winter olympics our own after a darkened opening show athletes can start by getting the first medals from a record ninety eight cents for grants and fifteen different about an. equipment failure could have ruined the dreams of olympic gold for some german skiers and biathletes already in their russian of pardons hadn't put rivalry aside to help out. also the sour street violence engulfed bosnia herzegovina perhaps those clashed with police and said government buildings ablaze i mean soaring unemployment economic stagnation and corruption. and the suicide bombing reportedly carried out by a british citizen in syria sponsored french fears that hundreds

a western volunteers could pose a threat when they return home from the war. this is all seem to national coming to life from moscow my name is you. hello and welcome. the winter games are in full swing both in the olympic park on the black sea coast and on the mountain slopes well it's not find what's happening in the events already underway in sultry with our poll called paul high that i can hear is so as far as i understand one race is taking place right now as we talk. yes the men's five thousand meter speed skating is still in progress in the mine we just had to break out and he said they can resurface the ice that's why the event

is still in progress and russian even scoble have will be hoping for a very happy birthday he turns thirty one today and he's just about to take to the ice we'll bring you the results of that as soon as we get it it's the first gold medal has been decided all of the sochi twenty fourteen winter olympics he went to say. he won gold for the united states of america in snowboarding the slope style and at this very early stage for what it's worth it's norway that lead the medals table with one gold one silver and one bronze in title five gold medals up for grabs on saturday a little bit later on we've got the freestyle skiing the women's moguls event and the men's ten k. biathlon in which russia also have high hopes with anton chipotle in competing he won bronze in vancouver four years ago and also had already been a display of true olympic spirit that please tell us more. yes it is only day one but the olympic spirit is on full display basically the german skiers

were going to be under prepared for their events the german skates and biathletes as well because that a machine that was used to propel machine that is used to prepare their skis has broken now they look for assistance they approached a number of other federations including austria looking for help but they refused to help however russia did step in lending them this the machine up putting rivalry to one side so that the german skiers and biathlon competitors can prepare properly for their event so it's very early stages of these olympic games but the olympic spirit is very much on display now a few moments ago i mentioned the five gold medals that were up for grabs on saturday but let's find out a little bit more about les's medals with my colleague andrew fabio.

it's what all ashley since saw chief a dreamy old podium finish and then a limp dick medal around my neck and they said good enough to get one they'll be taking hiding something. these guns reflexive cheese landscape by the jacket peaks of present yana to sandy beaches of the black sea this design that will be useful even some paralympics with a curiously powered influence will get new metal for the efforts. to get. an olympic gold medal weighs an average of five hundred twenty to five hundred forty grams a paralympic gold medal is about six hundred seventy just six hundred eighty grams but the reason for the weight difference between olympic gold medals is because the titles of different sport disciplines vary in length they have to be engraved which means that the longer the title of the disappointed the lighter them. no matter what their weight each one takes a staggering eighteen hours to make it starts on the late the medals are cut to the

right size a special machine creates that icy looking center and the game's trademark patchwork quilt pattern is engraved reflecting russia's cultural diversity all part of twenty five different manufacturing steps recalled thirteen hundred medals have been minted in this way for the sochi games where twelve new events will make their intake debut has been a big undertaking for russian jewelry manufacturer adam ass they've needed two tons of silver which is the main ingredient and it does mean when his medals are not there waiting for gold which is only used as a final casing in fact their rule value is just a few hundred dollars they actually tell you they are in fact priceless and. so over the next sixteen days there's a busy sched you are the winter olympics in salt chance you understand and altering

to nationalise following the games closely from our studio bring you extensive coverage of everything that's happening there and he's a nice and now it was more spectacular. the city is still low rumbling really can feel the energy in the air after what we saw last night with the opening ceremony of course kicking off the twenty second winter games here in the russian coal still city the two and a half hour show took spectators on a breathtaking journey through russian culture and history more than forty thousand spectators from around the globe packed into the fist of the big stadium to witness this extravaganza certainly featured the olympic great of nations this time with a difference athletes not didn't enter the stadium from the side as usual but marched up right from the middle emerging from a changing of the world and of course there was a grand fireworks display to match the dazzling show so the culmination of the

ceremony was of course the lighting of the olympic flame would be almost going to two of russia's most celebrated athletes soviet hockey legend of the dislodged and legendary figure skater irina rodnina who shared home motions with. yes that girl is going mr spillikins it it seems is my destiny to do everything as a pair but it's a fantastic experience it's so great that we've been entrusted with such an honor i have these games will be extremely exciting it's always exciting at the olympics everything is brand new here the weather is beautiful and it's creating a festive mood for everyone especially the athletes and it's very important because the olympics has long been about so much more than just sports. but with security of titan sancerre we spoke to one marius star who knows all about keeping people safe steven seagal who is a friend of lead immigration and a martial arts expert believes people should feel secure other. i

would agree with some of the folks who are saying that search is probably one of the safest places around right now and i think the world you know in all of the different countries that are participating in the olympics are all very concerned about trying to make this a wonderful experience of everybody's cooperating or working hard in their own respective areas so i think that as a worley we all support each other to try to make any olympics in the world in the world a secure wonderful event where politics are kept out of it. and you can also find out everything else that's happening from our tweeted team our feed has a list section where all the sporting disciplines are sorted into categories for example to see how the women's scale flung race was going on scale list to see first hand tweets that and he is now the american team posting

a colorful photo right from the competition also a scottish sports one shows his emotions say it was the best sporting event and actually one of the canadian skaters tweeted look who came out to support adding a moose to that fan club so keep across everything by following our tour the coverage of. the g twenty four team promises week ultimately an exhilarating winter for us in our. journey and it's now a make seven now and the rest of our lives take these teams to sochi twenty four take. on r.t. thousands of people across bosnia set fire to local government buildings and clash with police hundreds have been injured in three days of protests in a state that slipping into serious economic stagnation with around forty percent of the population out of work. in the

capital star yeah ryan said the presidential building a blaze along with nice cars and time is a source he's fun and a brother but it's also kind of until you pass just because it's not the process of the country protests is a lot of what's a security force says and told local government buildings and rest initially erupted over the closure of several state owned companies that was sold off and then collapsed on to private ownership but is caught on a list dr mark mason says the violence is growing into a full blown uprising. forty percent of the population of bosnia they are simply employed without any work whatsoever so these conditions are like annoyed at all surprising that we have a mass popular uprising some of the police may come over and that's one of the back doors that has been actually studied by social scientists is that when about five percent of the population say they've had it with the government and they get some

significant fraction of the police forces to say i'm through with this too i'm joining the protesters that's pretty much the end of it for the government so we want to watch that very closely. up ahead being a problem and he showed in gratian people in switzerland deciding whether the influx of foreign driving should big have critics say the economy would be the area that. is damage control in washington after a leaks recording of a phone conversation apparently involving the u.s. assistant secretary of state revealed the depths of america's involvement in ukraine's onto a government under arrest so that would be great i think to believe this thing and have the u.n. help glue it and you know the e.u. . strong language by victoria nuland was recorded while she was talking to the u.s. ambassador in kiev three months caused outrage trying to challenge. the code

noonan's choice so was completely unacceptable in international affairs commentator rick rose as the conversation shows america's overall neglect of the salvation of other states. this story would not have gained traction it would not have achieved the exposure it had if that word had not come out i'm afraid that really obscure the actual content of the discussion which is all but you know presenting a blueprint for regime change at least significant words to get issued during the course of the conversation with the u.s. ambassador is the one that it's game to the notoriety for better or worse that it has what you're really seeing is just casually and callous the u.s. state department lots of political transformation in other countries outside the legitimate which is a bit like toral you know how it is going to affect engineers regime we should not even going down into the most minute of minute particulars as to who should and should not be a future prime minister. the u.s.

state department did not deny the authenticity of the recording say that noonan's already apologized for her comments but washington's continued claim that it's not involved in the ukraine's political process that the state department spokesperson the flame that it shouldn't be a surprise that there are discussions about events on the ground is more than discussions though this is the u.s. midwife in the process there's a difference between private discussions that happen in the interagency process in the building and what we convey publicly as a u.s. government that's what you do as i'm sitting in my if you're saying privately behind the scenes that you're cooking up a deal and then you're saying publicly that this is up for you creating an subside those are two totally different things. coming up next this program a facelift for the israeli army. when record numbers are down a good come i'll show you just my do the job after a short break report on why israel is taking to the airwaves to boost its calm but

yet stay with us. there's a saying you know when you're in the arctic you have feel entire world at your feet she looks like a fairly simple ship but really she's not symbol of the. handful of people ever have access to the nuclear icebreakers the real king here is that the polar bear and ice breakers come second not a single complex expedition to the arctic can be conducted with the russian nuclear powered fleet of ice breakers we've undertaken a unique operation in. the northern sea route russia's arctic ice breakers.

this is an international welcome by the un brokered cease fire in the syrian city of homs has reportedly been broken with both sides of the conflict blaming each other for shelling they says you on aid convoys are on their way to help civilians bearing the brunt of a war dozens of people why iraq you waited four homes on friday as part of agreements reached of the geneva two conference and the syrian government says it's

ready to continue talks with the opposition of the summit being mediated by the one of the rebel delegates don't enjoy popular support and find syria where radical islam is donating the fight against assad hundreds a western volunteers have fills the ranks of the opposition fighters sparking fears they could bring taleban home with them as a taste test and see there are. a british hot is known as i will survive model be taught he is believed to be the first briton carried out a suicide attack in syria after a vehicle packed with explosives was taken to a prison allowing some three hundred prisoners to escape now british citizens along with other europeans to travelling to syria some as young as sixteen and fighting alongside jihad as groups of law but a concern for authorities believe now that there are about three hundred fifty britons over there making up the law. largest contingent of some one thousand westerners and this is

a new development reinforces of the urgency expressed by governments here and having to deal with this specific group of jihad is scary they are countries passport it it's difficult in the fight the information is finally come out that we seeing this actually happen in syria however given the trends that we've seen in syria over the past few years it's not surprising that we're seeing british individuals or foreign individuals more generally becoming involved in suicide operations on the ground i think if we compare this particular conflict in syria with the other jihadi battlefield that we've seen around the world media repeated to you with which we've seen the large numbers of foreigners be drawn to the bout if you will is from my perspective i'm president of the numbers that were being they were hearing created about our news for british intelligence and it presents a very difficult picture for them to manage in sounded the alarm over this phenomenon authorities are regreasing be worried about what happens with these individuals return home a group of britons already threatened to carry out terrorist attacks in the u.k.

and this is believed to be the first direct threats to come out of syria reporting from london i'm tests or cilia. now some other wild news in brief today at least two people have reportedly been killed and seven injured after a passenger train derailed in the french alps it was traveling from the coastal city of nis firefighters at the scene say the train came all the tracks after hitting a rock emerges the south says are now at the scene and the rescue operations continue . iran has resumed talks with the once nuclear watchdog on its atomic program the country's media says one alasia is is they have a water reactor in iraq wish to iran says it could modify to produce less plutonium in ten days iran the good thing here stations with world powers on a final deal to allay western and he is still building bombs the country has already hold its most sensitive nuclear operations on the preliminary agreement which one if something really. on sunday. in spain crowds of

protesters gathered in this streets of hama chanting slogans against the world this happened as spain's princess christina arrived in cold over a corruption scandal involving husband is destruction of defrauding the original government and i'm battling six million a year as of public money they can only crisis hit spain harder with many local authorities tightening their belts and judges looking into two thousand and eight corruption cases. this week's are preparing for a referendum on whether to comp immigration polls show increasing support for the plan to limit the number of foreigners moving to switzerland but it could backfire on it the economy as a lot is loose accounting of has been finding out. welcome to switzerland breathtaking views plentiful jobs and low taxes it's no surprise that the streets here are growing more crowded some eighty thousand new residents arrive each year

a significant number for a country of just eight million our industry our economy needs immigration to a certain point but everybody under a mist under estimated the situation the number of people coming is much much higher than anywhere else in the world on sunday switzerland will ask its citizens whether to reintroduce quotas for immigration from abroad including the universe although itself not a part of the blog switzerland has signed on to the e.u. rules on freedom of movement if passed the initiative would pit the swiss against an angry brussels but supporters aren't worried the swiss parties said the swiss political elite they were very enthusiastic about joining the european union came years ago. but people changed they saw the disadvantages they saw the immigration is tremendous much bigger than recalls and so there's also a change of thinking and anti immigration slogans are gaining more traction here in

switzerland at first about a third of voters supported the initiative now that favors over forty percent so what's behind this push to keep outsiders out of switzerland will some experts say and motions a lot to do with that. there is competition in the housing market competition. in treasury. and there is competition in the labor market so distance and it's populist politics this angel in this field but as elsewhere in europe anti immigration messages seem to be resonating and pollster say even voters without political affiliation mate vent their frustration comes sunday is like. this swiss businessman who owns it's medics factory the name as a manufacturer i profit from this to make it the more people i sell my products to the better but i'm also a swiss citizen i don't want to live like

a sardine in my country which cylinder is tiny and we simply can't accommodate all the immigrants the country can't take anymore. but the proposed curbs also take aim at highly skilled workers there's no way to run the hells or education system. because there's no way to do modern business in particular financial services franking research for years and there's no way to run to receive this out wages and goods from other countries switzerland is highly dependent on this works for him ten companies in switzerland including nestle are founded by foreigners last year they created around thirty thousand new jobs force it's a bit weird that know they are against the royals because they need them i mean we're not stealing the jobs we're just taking the job they don't want to do so that's why i figured so this so this. i don't understand how this sunday's vote is likely to strain ties with brussels but the fear is that it could have more

economic consequences than the country bargained for reporting for r t in switzerland and lucy catherine of. the latest ad was snowden leaks how u.k. intelligence stops at nothing when trying to get the information they report that he is a british intelligence agency of using sex sidelights hearts and propaganda to get to that target read the full story on how to talk also the mars rover curiosity captures an image of planet earth taken directly from the surface of the red planet check out the pictures on our website. the israeli army says the number of people willing to serve in combat units is fully forcing the government to look for new ways to try and improve things the media has been called on to how now t.v. commercials praising military service have become the latest recruiting weapon also

as policy and now reports. these really army has a new fight on its hand numbers in combat units are down potential recruits are shying away from signing up fighting it seems has lost its glamour the i.d.f. is concerned it's circulating videos like this online that celebrate the strength of his radio fighter in this one a week if to put claims his strong soldiers are as is the i.d.f. this old to be managed drinking strong coffee and this teenage girl is pounding strongly on drums both fits in with the catch phrase sound the idea is strong surely cause smiles when he watches the videos the twenty five year old served in one of israel's most prestigious fighting brigades he spent two and a half years in and out of gaza a close friend of his was killed there in the line of duty like others he's asking of serving in combat was the right decision as it is for sure what i did is

important and needs to be done but i don't think it helped me in the long run not for finding a job and not might occasionally i think i would do things differently if i have the chance again. and the stats seem to support him over the last three years motivation among youngsters wanting to serve an idea of combat units has dropped by nine percent more noise where he's off thinking twice about whether they want to put their life on the line to serve their country you value a lot also fighting the statistics the air force special unit veteran runs boot camps encouraging high schoolers to follow his footsteps into the i.d.f. each squads so there you can see that in certain places over in israel the persians prepare prefer that their kids will serve in much more safer places like intelligence where you cannot be. in danger the i.d.f. spokesman peter lerner insists the drop in number doesn't change things. the i.d.f.

can still keep the country safe it is part of the situation where the types of threats have also changed it's also a result of an atmosphere where there are other units which also are substantial. in the type of defense that they supply for instance technological units the army stand on the comb through the cyber both and compute the thing you need the people that stand in front of their own enemy and this save the both of their souls they do it will come back you next may not be fighting the because bastion of the existence keeping the sounds going. tel aviv. and coming up next here on our senior national air in aid to blows the cover of the high.

recently in an online poll by the liberal dozhd t.v. channel that's rain in english has caused quite a storm of rage across the country how could a stupid online poll cause russia wide anger while they pose the question was defending leningrad from the nazis worth it because retreat in their opinion could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives what is offensive from culture to culture differs a lot but from a russian perspective fighting to the bitter end to stop the german genocide machine was worth it this is basically like if a somewhat popular news outlet had a poll on martin luther king's birthday asking was slavery really that bad it was a poem for the economy but why would someone create this poll is because the people who wrote it are sick with the disease are types total self infatuation egoism and greed and other words were a generation mean mean mean these people could never imagine sacrificing the great

and wonderful me for any cause sacrificed me to the last for me i'd rather kiss the boots and learn german but it wasn't for millions of russians put their self-interest as a distant second then all those great and wonderful me would have been worked to death and shot a nazi death camp it pays to make a few sacrifices for society. profession. well. science technology innovation all the developments around russia we've got the future are covered. area this is boom bust i marinate and these of us stories are bringing for you today. accountability in the financial world never ever not well

until now three senior banking executives from the now defunct anglo irish bank went on trial in dublin this week we'll tell you all about it coming right up and then author and investment banker first well it is a lot of on the program today we're talking real estate and housing bubbles both past and present and finally it's friday which means it's viewer feedback today here on broome's us ed harris and i address your questions some and concerns are live on the show you won't want to miss a moment so let's get to it. in dublin ireland this week the trial of three senior banking executives who almost bankrupted the country got underway now the former banking exacts all face charges

relating to a loan scheme which attempted to prop up the anglo irish bank during the two thousand and eight financial crisis sean fitzpatrick will and william mcateer face sixteen charges of unlawfully providing financial assistance for the purpose of buying shares in the anglo irish bank now sean quinn a star witness in the trial was at one time the richest man in all of ireland he borrowed billions from the bank to fund a global problem for the celtic tiger boom years however when property prices collapsed across the world when billions had to file for bankruptcy now the anglo irish bank was ultimately bailed out costing the irish taxpayer and european union tens of billions of euros now the case marks a rare criminal prosecution of banking officials involved in the two thousand a credit crisis and with hundreds of witnesses millions of documents and a trio of nationally hated figures the trial is proving to be one of.